It Only Happened Once
by grookill
Summary: A mood piece. Ranma has flashbacks as he watches the birth of his child.


Ranma 1/2 is published in the U.S. by Viz Communications. All U.S. rights for the characters in this fiction are controlled by Viz.  
  
This is a fanfiction. There is no intent to dilute the ownership of Ranma 1/2, nor is there any intent or desire for monetary compensation for this work.  
  
All bow before the great Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2.  
  
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It only happened once. Once, however, was enough to change the direction of Ranma's life.  
  
With one action, all the decisions he should have made were suddenly made for him. In hindsight, the results of his actions were predictable; the odds were either that it was going to happen, or the odds were it wasn't going to happen. There was no way of telling what the odds were at the time.  
  
If Ranma had actually thought about what was going on at the moment, he may have stopped. Unfortunately, at the point in time when he could have taken a different, and harder path, he took easy route.  
  
More than once he wondered how the whole thing started, and twice as many times he asked himself why he did what he did.  
  
It didn't matter now, though, it was time.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma sat in the furo with the lights off. The day had been a hard one, and the sat contemplated just how many more supernatural things will affect his life.  
  
It all started when Ranma woke to the sounds of wailing in the hallway. When he bolted out of his room, he saw the three girls in a tight hug. He was curious as what happened, and was about to ask Akane when he saw that all three girls were crying. The only word he could make out clearly between the sobs was "mother," but when Ranma finally figured out what he was going to ask, Genma pulled him aside, quickly telling him what happened, and insisted that Ranma leave the girls alone for a while.  
  
He pulled himself out of the water and fumbled for the light switch. After stubbing his toe on the bucket, he flipped the lights on and squinted, trying to find a towel in the too-bright room.  
  
Ranma supposed that having a family meeting with a long dead mother could be frightening, but he didn't quite understand the very emotional way the girls reacted to meeting a ghost. After all, it wasn't the first ghost they encountered.  
  
* - *  
  
The machines hummed and the doctors were murmuring. Soon a cry as heard and the tension in the room dropped significantly.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma walked through the hallway in a contemplative mood. The girls emotions were still running high and strong. The tears, wails, violence, and the self-imposed isolation that girls went through were confusing. He never knew how any girl was going to react to anything that occurred.  
  
The fathers were no help. Soun took off early afternoon in hopes of finding a way to block the pain he were feeling, and Genma, his friend and fellow student, went with him to try to cheer him up.  
  
Ranma was alone in the house with Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane, and had to make sure that each of them came to no harm or did anything inappropriate.  
  
He noted that each of the girls had different ways of dealing with the loss of their mother. Kasumi went outside and threw rocks at whatever she could see through her tears. Nabiki sat in her room, she cried so much that tears could no longer pour from her empty tear ducts. Akane locked herself in the dojo, shunning all advances Ranma made to comfort her.  
  
By late afterooon, the three girls and Ranma settled down and started to watch television in the tea room. Other than an occasional soft sob or a quiet curse, they watched stupid game shows and boring dramas to pass the time away.  
  
When Ranma's stomach grumbled loudly in hunger, it was quickly decided that it was a good night for a take-out dinner. Kasumi excused herself, and a few minutes later, she announced that dinner will be arriving about the time the show they were watching would be over.  
  
Just before they all sat down for dinner, Nabiki brought out some bottles of wine and a bottle of an amber colored liquid that everyone guessed was a whiskey. When dinner was over, all of the wine had been consumed, and the strong tasting stuff was being sipped.  
  
Even Ranma drank along with the girls at their insistence and was felt the effects of the alcohol.  
  
The four of them occasionally slipped into bouts of silliness while they watched television. Soon, the long day took its toll on everyone started suggesting about to going to bed. A final toast was made by Nabiki, and the four of them went upstairs for a nights sleep.  
  
Ranma settled down on the futon and relaxed, hoping that everyone would get some rest and start living normal their lives again. The universe had not quite stopped spinning and he had a strange dry taste in his mouth. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that the taste of the "whiskey" was not quite correct.  
  
* - *  
  
One act, one night, and an infinite number of new problems were created. In the instant he peered around the nurses, he saw that all those problems were justified and that the struggle was worth it.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma woke up the next morning with a headache. He threw the blanket off him and saw that he was naked. Looking over to the side of the futon he saw his boxers stuffed in the his pants. Shrugging his shoulders, he reminded himself not to drink so much next time, and if he ever did, at least remember to keep some underwear on. He scratched the back of his head and dressed for the day.  
  
* - *  
  
The doctors and nurses parted way so Ranma could see. An elderly nurse lowered her mask, smiled at Ranma, and led him to the side of the bed.  
  
* - *  
  
The house was in an uproar. Ranma had just returned from being chased all over Nerima by Kodachi and wanted to relax.  
  
Again the girls were upset and in tears, but this time Soun alternated between being angry and disappointed.  
  
Genma took Ranma to the garden outside and explained the situation. Ranma wondered how it could have happened. His father hit him on his forehead for asking such a stupid question.  
  
Ranma explained that it wasn't how, but when, where and who were the questions. As far as he knew none of the girls went anyplace or did anything that could have given then the opportunity.  
  
Genma looked at his soon with a hard glare before asking Ranma if it were possible that he had the opportunity.  
  
Ranma shook his head negatively and recounted the last month. When he explained the wine and the lack of a clear memory of that night, he watched the expression on his father's face change. Ranma insisted he went to bed alone and woke up the next morning alone.  
  
When Genma and Ranma returned inside, they found Soun sitting at the table with one daughter. Ranma could a pile of several used tissues on the table in front of her and an almost empty box of tissues in her hands.  
  
Genma motioned for Ranma to sit down opposite Soun and cleared his throat. The girl looked up at Genma and tried to avoid looking at Ranma.  
  
When Ranma's eyes caught hers for the briefest of moments, he saw the inescapable truth.  
  
Soun asked the youngsters to leave, as he had to have a serious discussion with Genma. Ranma and the girl left the room, and went out the front door to the dojo.  
  
In the dojo, Ranma was calmly told what happened. Ranma had to deal with a tremendous load of guilt; not his, but hers. She admitted that she craved physical contact, and that she was unable to ignore her own biology.  
  
She begged Ranma not to hate her.  
  
Ranma exploded into anger. He yelled, screamed, and cursed everyone and everything that had happened to him. He verbally attacked the girl and saw that she was whimpering about being worthless and tears pouring from her face. He stopped in mid-rant, took a deep breath, and calmly sat down next to her. He gently wiped the tears off her face and gave her a re-assuring smile.  
  
Before saying another word, Ranma slid backwards on his knees. Bowing down lowly with his head touching the back of his hands, he begged forgiveness for being so cruel and for saying such mean things.  
  
He felt a soft touch run through his hair and he looked up to see a tear tracked face with a small smile lit upon it. Knowing that he was forgiven, he sat upright and tried to carry on a discussion with her of what may happen.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma warmly gazed upon the child and the mother. He reached out for the mother's cheek. No words needed to be said, for they had learned how to speak volumes with a look or a single touch.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma woke up in the middle of the night. He was uncomfortable, for the cold winter air chilled him. He rolled over and saw that the blankets were bunched around his new wife. He quietly laughed and gently tugged to pull enough of the blanket to cover him. When she stirred, he tickled her ear, earning him a quick kiss and half the blanket.  
  
After recovering himself, he thought back through the day and remembered the events.  
  
The wedding was a quick affair, but the reception lasted several hours longer than planned. The union of the Tendo and Saotome families not only brought forth the colorful elements of Nerima, but other long-time members of the community came by to wish the newlyweds the best future.  
  
Unfortunately the day did have some failures. Ukyou came by and attacked the bride before the wedding even started. People were talking for days afterwards how the fathers of the bride and groom intercepted her missiles and drove the chef away. Later, as the wedding was just underway, Shampoo attacked the bride with the intent of "removing an obstacle." A quick shove by Ranma moved his wife-to-be out of immediate harm, and a second later, everyone watched Ranma throw Shampoo hard, back first, into the ground.  
  
When the wedding was over, Cologne apologized to the bride and carried her great-granddaughter back to the Nekohanten. It was not the last time that Ranma had to defend his wife from Shampoo, but he never heard the words "son-in-law" again from the old matriarch.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma looked at the baby girl in his wife's arms. The child had an unruly mop of red hair that defied the nurses attempt to keep it down. Eventually they settled for putting a knit cap on the baby and hoped the hair wouldn't cause any problems.  
  
A wave of exhaustion swept through Ranma's body. He knew he wasn't the one that gave birth; it was anticipation and fear that sapped his strength. He moved a chair next to the bed and sat in it.  
  
* - *  
  
They were just about ready to go to bed when she announced that her water just broke. Ranma looked at his very pregnant wife and calmly put his pants and shirt back on. A few minutes later, the family gathered downstairs, waiting for the taxi to take the expectant mother and Ranma to the hospital  
  
Fifteen sleepless hours later, Ranko was born.  
  
* - *  
  
Ranma stood in the rain, waiting with the taxi as the nurse pushed the wheelchair containing his wife and daughter out of the hospital. His parents and his in-laws were just behind the nurse.  
  
Ranma was smiling.  
  
Everyone went into shock.  
  
Ranma was still male.  
  
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This story started with the first sentence and nothing else. I had no idea where I was going with it. The rest of it was a writing exercise, trying to keep a consistent perspective.  
  
I had no idea for a plot. I had no idea even of the story.  
  
That kind of explains why I never identified the sister that Ranma ends up marrying. I think that the Visit would normally be out of character for all three of the girls, but given the alcohol and the depression, I suppose I'll have to swallow my own fabrications.  
  
So who was it? I don't really know. I have my own opinions, but I'm keeping them private. Who do you think it was? 


End file.
